Handheld electronic devices are easily lost due to their small size and the variety of places and situations where such devices are carried and used. It is not uncommon for a device user to lose his or her device when it falls out of a pocket, bag, carrying case, holster, etc. Unless the device user hears the device hit the ground or feels the device slip away, the device is likely to be left where it falls. While solutions exist which allow users to attempt locate lost devices, these solutions are only useful after the device loss has been discovered by the user. Often significant time has past since the device has been lost and the device user can attempt to recover the device. This increases the chance that the lost device will not be recovered, and inconveniences the user even when the device can be recovered due to the lost time without the device, and the time and cost associated with retrieving the device or having the device delivered to the user.
Thus, there remains a need for improved device notification systems, and more particularly to improved methods and handheld electronic devices for detecting and providing notification of a device drop.